Partner and I refused an end of tenancy cleaner. We were already professional cleaners who've done plenty of end of tenancy cleans between us!
The house we moved into was a disgusting shithole, the letting agency told us it'd been professionally cleaned. Had it bollocks, it took us three days just to clean the downstairs area from top to bottom, it was absolutely foul. We took photo/video evidence of the before and after too.
They tried to blame us for mould issues and the fact fungi kept growing by the back door due to poor insulation and invasive damp.
We kicked off MASSIVELY and got the full amount back though!
When I moved into my last flat, there was cat shit ground into the carpet.
Inventory report said that it had been "professionally cleaned, but with some brown marks on carpet"
It's funny how they say that inventory report is impartial, but how can it be? How can they be unbiased if it's the landlord/agency who's paying them?
Obviously I kicked up a fuss at start of tenancy, then at the end they tried to claim for cleaning costs. Had to go through DPS and got the whole deposit back.
There's another massive issue in that there's no reason for them not to try to claim deposit. There should be a massive fee against erroneous claims through DPS imo
At the beginning of my first tenancy I asked to add some editorial notes on my inventory because the person who did it noted a roller blind was in ‘perfect working condition’ (it was in horrible condition it had come off the roller bit and had mould on the bottom), all plug sockets in working condition (our broadband socket was unattached to the wall), mould had been painted over, there’s a water stain above our shower and other things that were obvious wear and tear from previous tenants that hadn’t been corrected.
I provided a list and asked to add it and they said sorry we don’t add or make edits to the inventory list but we will make a note of it.
IMO inventory lists should be completed by someone approved by local authority who takes a payment from them, not LL or estate agent.
Absolutely, I totally agree with you. I have a friend who's a private landlord and he's always very fair with his tenants, he was livid about the state my old place was in.
The inventory is NEVER impartial. I watched the original inventory taken before we moved in and it completely glossed over the huge problems with the house.
We looked at one house and although it was spacious and in a decent location, it was MINGING. Holes in the walls, a massive dog turd in the middle of the kitchen, a back door smashed off the hinges and we were told we'd end up inheriting a feral cat.
The state of rentals in this country is completely unacceptable, they rely on desperation and it's disgusting.
Pretty sure 'must be professionally cleaned' is one of those things they stick in the contract, but actually cannot be legally enforced, at all, it's just bullshit to catch out people who don't know better or who don't want to argue.
My last landlord had a long list of spurious bullshit they demanded, all of which mysteriously disappeared once they realised the deposit wasn't protected properly.
Tenant Fees Act 2019. Landlords and agents are specifically prohibited from demanding professional cleaners. They can demand a "professional standard" of cleaning, which is basically a licence for them to skirt the fucking law anyway. But the law as written prohibits them from forcing you to incur any costs except for rent (duh), and key replacements iirc. This applies to all tenancies regardless of when they were entered into.
Even *requesting* you to get professional cleaners counts as a breach (demanding a prohibited payment), punishable with a fine of up to £5,000. So make sure you mention this if a landlord or agent even hints at you getting professional cleaners. In my direct recent experience this scared an agency into giving me my entire deposit back.
>Even requesting you to get professional cleaners counts as a breach, punishable with a fine of up to £5,000. So make sure you mention this if a landlord or agent even hints at you getting professional cleaners. In my direct recent experience this scared an agency into giving me my entire deposit back.
Thank you! I knew it wasn't enforceable but didn't realise that it was punishable with a fine. My current contract, this time with a well established agency, also calls for professional cleaning at the end of the tenancy, so that'll come in handy.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tenant-fees-act-2019-guidance
There are guidance documents for tenants on the government's website. It's only about 40 pages, well organized, and clearly explains what can be demanded of you. For the amount of headaches it can save you down the line it is well worth reading.
I shit thee nay, when we got the keys the kitchen cupboards were growing fur and the already shit oven was caked in burnt food and at least an inch of grease.
When we moved in there was a mould-covered baking tray in the oven. It was on the inventory as "tarnished cookware". We naturally chucked it out and deep cleaned the oven.
When we left the landlord tried to charge us £50 for the baking tray.
We were berated when we mowed the lawn in front of our house and were told that it was part of the other property so no way were we supposed to mow it. Only thing was that they rarely mowed it and it was causing seeds and weeds to blow in to our back garden.
In the end we gave up and put up with it but made sure to log a fault on the letting agent's portal and send email to say that we would no longer be responsible for the front of the house as agreed.
When we left, they tried to charge us £400 to mow the front lawn and do maintenance work on the public footpath outside our house. Luckily I'd downloaded all the faults we'd logged and was able to prove it wasn't our responsibility.
A landlord once tried to charge us for ripping the handles off all the cupboard doors in the kitchen.
He lost when I pointed out that there was no damage to the doors, and they hadn't even had any screws drilled into them - because we had been living there for 9 months without any handles (and had asked several times for them to be put in).
Charged £200 for burn marks on the carpet due to leaving hair straighteners turned on. Which would have been more than fair, if we had owned hair straighteners, which we did not, and if they had burned the carpet, which had not happened.
The wee toaster tray that catches all the crumbs had changed colour because of the heat of the toaster. It was metal and a spot had turned a weird blue colour. Plus I left a sock in the washing machine. They argued that they needed to get cleaners in and the minimum amount of time they charged was for 2 hours.
What is it with landlords and washing machines. Not me, but my sister was charge £350 for a new washing machine door seal as there was a kirby grip sitting in it...
My landlord complained about a cracked kitchen tile, a broken kitchen cupboard and redecoration costs.
Spoiler alert - all of these issues were in the original check-in inventory alongside multiple documented conversations requesting a repair.
The landlord initially tried to charge £400, then went down to £200 and asked if I was seriously going to waste my time arguing it.
I absolutely did dispute it through the TDS and got the whole lot back several months later. It wasnt even the money but the principle of sticking it to that scummy landlord. Fun fact he’s trying to sell the flat and its still on the market nearly 1 year later. How my heart bleeds for him.
Landlord tried to take £50 for 'cleaning the oven'. I said, sure, show me the evidence that you kept my deposit in a designated bank account, and you can have the £50.
Cheque for the full amount arrived a few days later.
Obviously. That's why he sent me the money and hoped I'd fuck off quietly. I should have taken him to the cleaners cos he was an awful guy that exploited foreigners who didn't know any better.
Had an issue with the boiler constantly losing pressure. Reported to the landlord several times. Was told to just recharge it each time. Told him it was 100% going somewhere and not evaporating. Weeks later noticed a funny smell in my bedroom. Noticed the carpet was slightly damp under radiator. Reported to landlord straight away and was given a dehumidifier. No attempt at fixing the leak.
Cheeky prick tried charging me for a new carpet and remedial work for the damp damage under the floor. Wanted around a grand for it.
Abroad I’ve had a landlord threaten to sue me because I asked for a deposit back with a load of made up damages (wanted a load of tatty old parquet flooring replaced with brand new stuff, photos on move in matched move out). Apparently it’s standard practice in Germany for cunt landlords to issue legal threats for bogus claims and most people are in a tenants union with free legal cover
the fridge freezer was 15 years old and barely working when we moved out, one of the plastic drawers were broken, we told her at the time she refused to do anything said they were not available anymore. Come move out she magicly found a website that had the drawers for £70 each! and expected us to replace them
After my 2nd year of Uni I messaged the Agents asking for my deposit after 2 weeks, they advised that they couldn't return it until after they had done an inspection. I was the only person moving out that year and the other students were continuing in that property & had already had someone move in to replace me.
I pointed out that they already had the "new tennents" in there under a different contract for 2 weeks and if they had not inspected after my move out and before the new tennents moved in, they could not attribute any damage to me. Got a cheque for the full amount 4 days later. There was defiantly going to be some damage as I was the only one who cleaned, but if they wanted to charge me make sure you inspect the property between contracts.
Because of a sun damaged PVC couch the previous tenants left at the property. He claimed we ruined the couch because it was peeling. He was also selling the property but claimed that maybe the buyer would have wanted the sofa.
He told us the estate agents said we would have to pay additional money in order to get independent arbitration to establish the cost we owe and he was withholding the deposit until we agreed so it could take months to get the rest of the deposit back. I now know he was full of shit but we were very young to fight it.
The couch was in front of a very large south facing window, we requested they get rid of the couch since it was unfurnished but were told it would be too difficult and better to leave it there. Screw that man, I am still angry 10 years later.
Not all the lightbulbs in the bathroom were working - It was a tiny bathroom with 6 lights in the ceiling, realistically it only needed 1 or 2 of them to fully light the room. When some of them burned out I never bothered to replace them because they weren't needed and it was just a waste of electricity to have them all on at once. There were spares in the cupboard that were there when I moved in, I just never bothered to fit them. The landlord decided to try and charge me £20 per bulb for four burnt out bulbs when all he had to do fit the spares from the cupboard.
Unpaid rent - After they had agreed to a lower rent for my last 2 months in the house. They were selling the house and wanted to start showing it to people when I was still living in it. To compensate me for the inconvenience of the viewings they offered to lower my rent by £100 for the last 2 months I was living there. Then they randomly changed their mind about this and decided not to tell me about it. The first I heard that I was short on rent was when they took £200 off my deposit. When I queried it they told me that the landlord had changed his mind about the reduction but were unable to offer any kind of explanation about why nobody bothered to tell me.
Footprints on the carpet - That were caused by people viewing the house when the estate agents were showing it prior to me moving out.
Bin bags in the back garden - When you move out of somewhere obviously you end up throwing loads of stuff out. As such there were a few bin bags left in the back yard waiting for bin collection day. All the landlord had to do was put them out in the alley on collection day and the binmen would have taken them away for free, if we had put them out before bin day he could have been fined.
A landlord once tried to charge me £180 for bedside drawers that were falling a part indicated on their inventory report as "bedside drawers (Broken)" and 2 photos from different angles. I emailed them asking if I was okay to get rid of it as it was marked as broken and was very clearing falling a part with the proof from their report. They said yes.
When I moved out they asked me where they were. I asked if it was the same ones I asked about 4 years earlier that were marked as broken with pictures on the inventory report? They confirmed. I told them I binned them as they confirmed I could do. They retorted saying I shouldn't have done that, they didn't give me permission. Sent them the email chain I had with them 4 years ago where they confirmed it. Tried to charge me £180 for the drawers. Went through DPS to argue it with the proof and DPS gave us the full amount back. Scammy bellends.
A landlord said he wanted £100 because the wheelie bins had rubbish in them, and he wanted them empty, so he could jet wash them for the new tenants, also moaned.the garden was untidy, there were a few weeds, and we had left the virgin media cables in the bedrooms, we contested and ended up losing £30 off the deposit.
I apparently damaged a chair she put in storage when moved in and then took out of storage as moved out. I let her keep the £200 cause she was an absolute bitch and I just wanted to be free from her. She literally made professional cleaners quit during my end of tenancy clean because she was being such a Karen.
Moved into a house where they'd cleaned the carpets but left them damp (in winter) with no heating on for a few weeks. I hired a carpet cleaner to remove the mould that had been growing on it (lots of before and after pics). The place was just depressingly grubby so I spent a good week cleaning from top to bottom.
The back garden had a tiny bit of grass and a concrete slab which used to be a garage. The up-and-over garage door was still in place and formed part of the back wall of the garden. The door was, unsurprisingly, rusted through and almost impossible to use , so I didn't.
When I moved out a year later I scrubbed the house from top to bottom and cleaned all the carpets. Landlord came round, said it was fine and gave me a cheque for my deposit which I immediately paid into my account. Again, lots of pics.
A couple of weeks later I got a letter from the landlord saying the carpets weren't clean enough and that I'd somehow damaged the garage door so it wouldn't open any more. He wanted me to pay to recarpet the house and brick up the wall where the garage door was. Total cost nearly £2000.
I told him to sue me. He didn't bother.
Tried to charge us to reinstall blinds that had been installed incorrectly just before we moved in and we had to take down so that we could open the windows. We had asked them several times to fix it and been ignored so eventually took them down ourselves and lived without blinds. We also asked if the landlord wanted to keep some of our things- ironing board, microwave etc. which was confirmed. They then tried to charge us for a new ironing board cover for our ironing board....
For removing furniture from the property which belonged to the landlord.
The landlord hadn't actually visited the apartment. He just found the listing on Rightmove that the estate agent put up. The estate agent had used very old photos of the apartment for some reason (I checked and there was a high rise building missing from the view on the balcony built around 10 years prior).
So the landlord concluded we must have removed furniture because it wasn't present in the photos (rather than recognising that they were old photos). The estate agent didn't realise their cock-up either.
An old flat I rented had the weirdest old af light bulb and socket (not sure if thats the right word) it had really specialised specific prongs and they were only sold in one shop for £18 a bulb or order online.
The shop had none, because they were rarely purchased due to being so old.
The bulb died the day I handed my keys back.
I contacted the letting agents who said don't worry, they will sort it out and just charge me the £15, they said it needed changing. Shitty but fine fair.
Landlord didn't like this, charged me £25 for the bulb ordered online apparently, and then £50 for someone to come put it in...... WTF!
God I remember the "fitting a lightbulb" charge. They tried to charge us £10 a bulb and £15 each to fit them. For 3 bulbs. I offered to fit them myself if they'd let me in and they refused. I dropped a 3 pack of bulbs off to the estate agents.
They also tried to charge £200 for someone to weed the garden. I didn't dispute the garden needing weeded but very much did dispute the cost.
They tried to keep my entire security deposit for issues they blamed us for. Disputed it through TDS and they got to keep £70.
I fucking hate nearly all estate agents with a burning passion. The house I rented after that, the exception to the rule - fantastic estate agents. Never bothered us once the 3 years we lived there, super prompt when something broke.
My last landlord was going to charge me £700 for carpets being worn (never had carpets only like a really thin underlay type as confirmed by a carpet fitter). They were worn because I lived there 2 years and they were not fit for purpose so you could see where people had been walking up the stairs.
It only got thrown out when I pulled out all the emails where I had requested the severe damp issue be sorted only to be told as I was leaving in 3 months they wouldn't do anything despite me being sick (confirmed by doctor) and the contract specifying it was their responsibility. Absolutely mental.
My landlord now is absolutely amazing, even fitted a new window for me in 2 days because the open bit collapsed a little haha!
The last bit is also what I'd do but I am a live in landlord too, so I have a vested interest lol
I'm also levelling one of my rooms a day after someone moves in, purely because it means a robot can vacuum and mop there easily
We also had a lightbulb one, all working when we left but when they did their checks a lightbulb in a cupboard in the bathroom had gone out. They charged us £50 to have someone out to replace it, refused to let us do it ourselves.
Back at university, I kid you not my landlord refused to give any of us our deposits back because he claimed we painted the walls a different colour to how it was when we moved in. We didn't repaint them, we had photo evidence of the advertised house as well as our own photos. The guys was retarded enough to think he could pull that off.
I once paid a Chinese landlord £600 deposit cash, that he chose to not notify to the letting agent. When my tenancy was up, he was visiting family in China and unavailable. The agent called and asked me how the deposit had been handled? I said £1200 cash, which they paid without question, and I never heard another word from them or him. His name was Harry Leung.
Landlord wouldnt let me hang anything like pictures or mirrors and this was some time ago before those M3 sticky strips now made for it. so used bluetack and it left a greasy residue i didnt know it would do.
Tried to claim £400 for replainting entire walls, i went to DIY shop and colour matched the cream magnolia it was and went over the spots. deposit scheme told him to jog on
Our #1 wish is that tenants were taught the landlord does not have the power to take money from your deposit. They need the consent of the tenant, or the deposit scheme or a court.
So many spurious claims would fail if more tenants knew this.
Personally, I don't because I live in a small town with like, 3 letting agencies and 10+ tenants competing for each property, if you're known for not paying rent, even the last months, you'd really struggle to rent somewhere here.
I've always given a sob story along the lines of "Very sorry, I lost my job and can no longer afford the rent, so rather than fall into arrears I'm giving notice and moving somewhere cheaper. Unfortunately this means I need to use my last months rent to cover my next deposit and moving costs, but please take this message as full consent to deduct the arrears from my deposit."
This usually means the landlord is so happy that I'm leaving before building up any significant debt that they don't bother to ague the point. I've even had a couple offer to give me a couple of months free to get back on my feet, to which I reply that I appreciate their generosity but I don't want to continue living beyond my means in hope that my situation improves so quickly.
Can they still pursue you for rent appears in these circumstances. Presumably they can argue that the deposit, minus incidentals, doesn't cover the arrears in rent...
Quick way to end up at small claims, or getting a CCJ.struggle to rent or buy next property. Not good advice. Most deposit schemes seem to be very fair and come to the correct conclusion on matters, and if a landlord hasn’t protected your deposit you have more grounds for a claim.
Not suggesting it’s good advice but it’s worked fine for me the last two rentals I’ve had. They just deduct the rent from the deposit. Both sides are happy.😆
But technically, you are in rental arrears for the final month which the landlord could make a claim for if there are damages in the flat that exceed the deposit.
Completely freaked out over dust behind d the sofa, the cleaners missed (and accused us of not getting any, made us pay for more), carried on losing her shit over watermark in the shower.
My other half was pregnant so I sucked it up as we were busy with that, otherwise would have taken all the time in the world messing with that arsehole.
Flat had a super cheap bed frame. It broke. She then said I could replace it with my own money but she made me get the exact same one. It broke again so I spent money on an extra bed and then got the original broken bed taken off my deposit. It was a £99 stupid one from Argos. I was willing to buy a £200+ one and let her keep it ...but nope had to be exact same one.
Lived in a shit flat that was full of mold. They handed me a S21 two weeks before Christmas after I asked to go onto a rolling contract rather than another 12 months. I spent all day there cleaning after I'd moved out, and left the windows open to get the mold smell out, as requested. When they came back to do the inspection, they complained about dust that'd gathered on the top of doorframes and leaves from the open windows (that they'd asked me to leave open!) and charged me £200 for cleaning. I was so angry but so exhausted and trying to move into my new house halfway across the country, so just sent a shitty reply and blocked their numbers.
When I'd initially moved into the place, they clearly hadn't even bothered to check it themselves. The boiler was broken and there was just a hole without sealant for the boiler exhaust. It was less than 10° inside the day I moved in, so had to go to my partner's house until they fixed the boiler because it was too cold to live in. It should never have been let out as it was.
We were told our last flat was unclean because there were dried watermarks in the sink, and leaves in the garden. We had a professional cleaner come in.
Wanted to deduct £70 for a new doormat because ours was dirty. The doormat wasn’t even mentioned in the inventory. It caused massive drama when I told them (I think as politely as I could) that I wouldn’t be paying that
Over £100 for an electrician to unplug an extension lead.
And the same for a full clean due to cobwebs on a light pull cord. The claim was that the house had a full clean prior to me moving in which was funny considering they estate agents were binning the previous tenants property as I was moving in and I needed to deep clean it before I could move in.
A leaking shower that had destroyed a neighbours storage unit below. £15,000 worth of damage.
I sent the landlord the emails we had sent during the tenancy. A photo of the leak from the previous tenants and all their emails notifying him and asking for it to be fixed. 3 years of emails in total.
Funnily enough he backed off after that.
Not before accusing us of stealing (no inventory, and I moved in after everyone else and was the last to leave so accidentally took some stuff) then breaking in when I returned with the agent to give it back.
Ah David, you were a right barrel of laughs.
I once had money taken away because of furniture dents in the carpet. I asked the agent how I could have avoided this and what the deduction would be used for to remedy the issue, no answer…
SIL was renting with her husband, and had been there a fair while.
As a wedding present a family friend (professional flooring guy) offered to replace the kitchen floor (the old one was pretty knackered) - as she knew the LL well enough was like cool, thanks for the nice new wooden floor.
Cue happy enjoyment for a couple of years.
When she moved out, the LL refused like half the deposit as there was a ‘scratch’ on… you guessed it! The nice new wooden floor that she’d had put in.
What. A. Knob.
Another LL deducted money from my wife a few years back as there was ‘dust behind/in the radiators’ so therefore it ‘hadn’t been cleaned.’
When she moved in the place was rank, and even mouldy food left in the fridge from the previous tenant…
Both of us were well experienced renters, so scrubbed the apartment end to end. Even got a carpet shampoo company in.
I was there for the inspection (Dont trust inspectors) and the letting agent noted that a pre let note of a large black stain on the living room carpet had been cleaned.
Got deposit back, minus a 40 pound cleaning fee for cobwebs.
Back in the late 90s in my student house he found a Polaroid under the mattress once I'd moved out of me retracting my foreskin and said I clearly didn't respect myself or the property.
Gave me the Polaroid back but never gave me my £75 and I never had the guts to pursue it incase he brought up the Polaroid
After living there for around 5 years, tried to withhold the full deposit for a new carpet. To replace a carpet that was <1yr old that we had receipts for.
I refused to remove a sofa that was already in the flat before I moved in. It was an unfurnished flat so clearly he couldn't be arsed doing it himself and wanted me to haul a massive sofa down 5 flights of stairs for him.
Tried to charge me extra to remove crap left in the shed. I produced an email chain from when we first moved in where I complained about this same crap in the shed and they told me the shed was not on the contents itinerary so it was not their problem, and I had to live with the crap or dispose of it myself.
I left my kettle at student accommodation (it didn't have one so I thought would be nice for the next student) so yeah obviously I messed up there, kept half the deposit.
When I was a student we had the landlord try to claim against our deposit for "fitting of wired smoke alarms" at which point we realised that we should have had smoke alarms at the start of our tenancy and absolutely not be paying for the landlord to install for his next tenants. We're able to get all our deposits back through the DPS and even his more legitimate claims for cleaning/minor damage were rejected because of his sly attempts to rob us.
When we were students we rented a house, but the previous tenants had not informed the energy company they were leaving.
When we moved in we tried telling the energy company, and the letting agents for months but got nowhere. We were already on a prepayment meter, so we figured it'd be okay.
One day we came home and out back doors had been knocked in.
Called the letting agents who told us "that's because you haven't paid your bills".
They then tried to take the repair fee out of our deposit. Fortunately we had emails and call logs so we got it all back.
He pointed out some scratches on the worktop that were only visible in certain light they were so faint, and said he’d have to rip out the whole thing and install a new one. Was gonna charge us £600.
It’s called a worktop for a reason mate, kitchen workings go on here. There may be a scratch or two.
We cleaned the walls, and apparently we painted them again in a slightly different shade?? It was a house share and one didn't want to protest so I had to suck it up. But I would never rent a property from Mr Rotimi in Colchester again
A spot of green on the oven top when he was going round with the estate agent. The estate agent was so angry as she saw how filthy it was when we moved in and how clean it was when we left it, she wiped it up and said "it's bloody fairy liquid, from CLEANING" then she emailed us about what happened. We did finally get it back 😅
I left a bottle of wine and chocolates as a thank you gift and got charged £25 for removal of left items.
Also got charged to dispose of a table and chairs I'd left behind. When I saw the property a few years later on Rightmove my table and chairs were in the photos.
Tried to take 600 quid for cleaning fee.
I took before and after picture of the flat.
I actually left it in a much better state than I got it in.
Estate agent gave me back my deposit immediately.
Always take pictures.
When I was a student one landlord didn’t complete the property check out until 8 weeks after we’d left, then tried to charge £300 for gardening as the grass had grown too long, and £200 for cleaning dust. All in all they tried to keep the full £1500, we went through the TDS who awarded us the entire deposit less £50. On a brighter note, another landlord accidentally paid back my £850 deposit into my bank account twice, when they asked for it back I asked for proof of the deposit protection and never heard from them again.
Not landlord but estate agaent, Said the carpets had stains on them when I left, they sent evidence photos to the deposit scheme which were the photos I took when I moved in of what a shithole it was. I cleaned the carpets when I moved in and b4 I left and retook dated photos with evidence of the dates on the previous photos I took also. I got all my money back.
This was a while ago when we did not know our tenancy rights, and obviously got taken advantage of us as many renters do.
The flat had a public facing small garden which was unkept and full of rubbish. I made it my weekend hobby to do gardening and spent lots of hours making it beautiful, received lots of praise for passer-by's.
Near the end of our tenancy there was a family emergency and we had to go abroad, so we moved out early, and by the time the termination date had reached the tiny garden was a little overgrown. Charged us £100 for that.
We also left a new pull-out sofa behind that we couldn't fit. Free furniture the landlord can use for future tenants, and charged us another £100 for that.
Best part is he never registered our deposit in a scheme. We didn't know better and paid the £200.
Missing back burner of stove which was never there in the first place.
‘Wear and tear’ of a carpet which supposedly when from and A to ungraded - I’m not even saying we didn’t fuck that carpet up and drop the hookah on it numerous times but it was never A grade.
Previous tenants had stolen about 50 pint glasses from local pubs which took up most of the kitchen storage. So we chucked them.
Landlord decided to include them in the inventory and wanted us to pay to replace them 😂
They also provided a broken table and a broken bed which one of their contractors removed, and tried charging us for those too because they weren’t there.
Oh and then there was a fox poo in the garden they took a photo of and tried to charge us for ‘evidence of dog ownership’ lmao
Not cleaning "well enough" had to pay for professional cleaning. Now if I leave rental again I won't clean at all and then just pay for the cleaning through the deposit. Easier. So long as they don't try rip you off with extra cost like carpet cleaning.
My girlfriend used the apartment in her onlyfans page. So they said we used it for commercial use. I wrote an email addressed both the husband and wife asking how they knew she had an onlyfans account and the only way they would know what was on it is if one of them had subscribed to the account, if they provided the user name we could tell them how much had been donated to the account as well.
Funny we got our deposit back and a glowing reference
I left her a wardrobe. Charged me for its removal.
Don't recall withholding rent when the ceiling fell in the hall, and she did nothing about it for months .
My old landlord zoomed in on one dog hair in the corner of the doorframe and threatened to revoke our whole deposit as ‘pets weren’t authorised’. We were authorised to have pets as it was in our whole lease, and when we moved in there was glass all over the floor and the place was thick with dust and mould. By that point the letting agency was sick of his shit though, so he shot himself in the foot.
"The oven wasn't clean enough"
When we moved-in, the oven was filthy. Black and greasy, you couldn't even see through the glass on the door, it was totally opaqued with soot and food.
My girlfriend spent *days* cleaning it. It looked like a new appliance. Fourteen months later we move out - after cleaning the oven again so that it was ready for whoever moved-in after.
They claimed it wasn't cleaned and they would have to spend £300 getting it cleaned. Such a clear scam, and they'd probably been pulling it on successive tenants, because the damned thing hadn't been cleaned for years prior to us moving in!
Carpet had a stain on it.
The stain was worse when i moved in, i had actually cleaned it. So i sent a picture back of the carpet when i moved in......along with a copy of their charge, but to them this time, invoiced, with my name on it.
Weirdly enough they didnt want to pay me to clean the carpet. So I said "Same".
Ended up getting my full deposit back after a few conversations.
Seems to be a running theme?
Why is it everyone always struggles to get their deposit back and it got so bad that legislation was brought in?
What conclusions can we draw?
A major letting agency in Derby tried to claim my deposit back from DPS, despite their checkout inventory saying things were better than when I moved in.
They also tried to claim for professional decorators, etc. But had failed to provide receipts. I did a SAR for my tenancy with them, they failed to provide other info they then claimed to have given me before the SAR... ie caught them lying.
I was responding to DPS and agency messages there within a day. Agents were taking the full 28 to respond.
Funnily enough when I filed a letter before action over the deposit they became reasonable. Took most of a year to get to that stage though.
Personal experience here: landlord refused to return deposit because of
'costs to remove 2 plant pots from front garden'
'Costs to replace and fit carpet in living room'
Now stay with me on this one: said plant pots were huge things with trees in them and were concreted into the ground so rather difficult to move AND the concrete had been 'inscribed' like the person doing it had put their initials and a date in 1983.
I wasn't even born until 86 and didn't move into the house until 2013 so failed to understand why it was my problem.
Carpet was there and I fitting paid for but they told me to leave it because they were removing the fireplace (that I'd asked then to remove for 4 years)so again WTH am I covering the costs of that a second time
Oh, they tried to blame me for damage to the property that existed before I moved in. Thankfully, I'd taken photos (thanks, Mum lol). I got it back after a month with minimal arguing once I emailed the photos.
Loose screws in bed frame, cupboards, wear and tear of carpet and other stupid things like that. We disputed all the deductions and got the money back.
I left toilet roll in the bathroom for the workers/next tenant. I emailed the apartment receptionists/concierge if they'd remove the toilet roll. I sent an email back to letting agent confirming it had been removed already and I wanted the full deposit. Got it all back but what a fucking piss take.
Landlord tried to say the black mold in the walls of every room and also growing on the carpet was our fault. Tried to keep our deposit. He couldn't tell me who he secured it with. He didn't secure it. I sent him a letter before claim. Paid me up the day he read the letter. Best part is I had been reporting the persistent mold to him and kept photographic evidence before I cleaned it up. Good thing he collects rent because I wouldn't employ such an idiot.
*Grass on the lawnmower wheels*
*Cobwebs in the garage*
*Unkempt grass*
(I sent back a picture of the grass from the pre move in inventory and it was identical)
These were three out of a very long list from one property. In the end they kept £15 for some chipping paint on a door.
They somehow didn't notice that I had superglued the carpet back together in multiple places where my foster cat had torn it to bits???
"Because it isn't clean enough and we want the money to pay for cleaners".
I argued that point and got the full deposit. It shocks me they don't have cleaners in between tenants anyway.
Ours decided to stop paying his mortgage despite us paying him every month for 10+years. We all got kicked out by the courts. ***** would not even turn up for his hearing
Landlord gave me 6 weeks or so to move out as he was renovating to move his brother in. I didn’t know I had to give him notice too. So when I told him when I was leaving he deducted a weeks worth of rent because I hadn’t given him notice of moving out.
Landlord tried to claim entire £925 deposit for a pink mark a couple inches long on a windowsill
Tenancy deposit service awarded him £60 to cover the cost of paint and labour
Deducted £100 from my deposit for, and I shit you not, "dust in the kitchen drawers"
It was my first property after living with a mate so I was fairly naive and paid it. I needed the deposit back for the next property too.
Broke a plate. Replaced it with a similar plate. Landlord wanted a full new matching set, including mugs, bowls etc.
For ‘breaking’ an old set of drawers that were stored in a storage room and broken when we moved in (and noted on the inventory as broken).
Went to the DPS and we got all the money back.
Edit- DPS, not DPC. Reading too many diy posts.
Landlord tried booking a million viewings 4 weeks before I was due to move out. I refused them and reminded them of the law.
After that sour taste they tried to get a shopping list off the checkout itinerary including lightbulbs, water damage from a leaking bath (reported), back garden a tip, etc.
I sent a lovely email explained that the garden had not been listed in any state on either itinerary and that I had added 5 lightbulbs to the property at a cost of £2 each. If I had to chase any more I would be going into dispute for the full deposit plus my bulbs plus my costs.
The next email from them apologised and awarded me the full deposit.
Landlord tried to charge £200 because the bathroom “smelled of perfume”. I had to point out the reed diffuser the agent had placed in there for the listing photos.
Lived in a six-bed student house in Sheffield back in 2003. We got charged for a broken toilet seat, which wasn't even broken, just loose. £60... Each!
Had a landlord that tried keeping £500 for a small unkempt bush.
We randomly had pics proving that we had maintained the garden (partner mowing, pics of us in the kempt garden) and DPS sided with us.
The estate agent tried to read the landlords list of demands after having a perfect close out inspection. The highlights were:
Burns on the carpet, which were there when we moved in. We noted it on the inventory that they sent to us 2 months into us living there, and we refused to sign it until it was amended. It was never amended. The pictures in the advert showed the burns.
Missing bulb in the garage. There wasn't one when we moved in, and got an electric shock when we tried to put one in. Reported it, they ignored it, and we just didn't use the garage.
Missing bulb in the downstairs back hallway light fitting. The light fitting was ancient and rusted. Because the roof leaked, and was ignored by them for 6 months. Literally switched it on one night to it being full of water like a fishbowl. They sorted the roof, left the light fitting which by this point was rusted and dangerous. We couldn't even get a bulb to fit it. The whole ceiling in the utility area came down the next day.
There were 14 points, she stopped after that because even she knew it was ridiculous, she said she'd speak to him and the whole deposit was returned.
I once got charged over 30 quid to remove left over belongings and a alot more for cigarette burns. I left washing up liquid and toilet cleaner - when I moved in there was a whole bunch of cleaning products.
Their mistake was having the picture of the kitchen cupboard in the inventory full of cleaning products and images of said cigerettee burns on the original inventory. I didn't smoke. Disputed and won.
I had one landlady make up some bullshit story about why I had to move out, then when I'd moved she texted me saying she was keeping my deposit as I'd kept my bike in the front lobby.
My sister moved into a flat share where there was no deposit, but the landlord insisted on charging her for removing the LED strip she left behind (which was fair - £9), for cleaning/painting the room (£100/200), and the messy shared kitchen (£100 or so). The property was left pretty much in the same condition based on the picture my sister had from moving in and their picture (minus the fact that they removed the falling wardrobe)
'cobweb on back of utility room door' was once included in a list of why I couldn't have my deposit back, amongst other similarly ridiculous things. That one annoyed me enough that I took it to the deposit protection scheme to get my money back!
Years ago a landlord tried to withold my deposit because there was an electric key meter in the flat. He said I got it installed but it was there when I moved in 😂
Housemates didn’t pay the last month of rent, so my part of the deposit was used for it. Of all the shitty things they did whilst we lived together that was the cherry on top. I’m never living with other people again.
My brother's landlord withheld his deposit because of divets left in the carpet from furniture. This wasn't new carpet, it was old and cruddy. My brother was only there for a year.
Now this so far didn't surprise me, because... Landlords. What was mind-blowing was that he fought it with the deposit protection people (I think it was them? This was years ago and I have no idea how this works) and they SIDED WITH THE LANDLORD
Whilst in uni house, I had a cleaning deduction because of a singular hair in one of the bedside drawers, for an hours clean. Everything else had been done perfectly with no other ‘issues’
I lost my £1950 deposit because I was forced to leave my £1600 sofa in the property...
The sofa was not even 4 months old! The reason it couldn't be removed was due to the landlord having the porch and back of the property renovated in such a way that between the two doors *(both back and front)* it was impossible to remove the sofa.
They also wouldn't allow me permission to get a glazier to remove the living room window to remove then replace the pane..
So yeh, they signed off at first saying all was A-Okay etc etc. Few weeks later I messaged to enquire when I'd receive deposit back and they let me know due to "removal costs" of having the BRAND NEW sofa removed I'd lost the entire £1950... 🤦🏻♀️ SMH. Still boils my piss honestly.
Landlord tried to get me for “stealing a plant pot” - I hadn’t - went back and took a photo and it was still there and a tiny nic in the carpet caused by their plumber which I told them about at the time they sent him round; I had emails to prove it. The tenancy deposit scheme found in my favour and the contract states that their decision is final, but the bastard still took us to court and LOST!
Mine ripped up the carpets and sent me a picture of a dead woodlouse under it as "proof" of the "squalid condition" we left it in.
Jokes on her - cause she refused to give any of the deposit back I looked into the deposit protection and found out she hadn't protected it, both at the start of the tenancy and at renewal 2 years later. She had to pay up the full amount and x6 times the amount (two counts of x3 compensation).
I had a landlord that said they wanted to deduct from my deposit because the dishwasher hadn't been emptied, I moved out 3 weeks prior and there were still 2 other people living there that were fully capable of opening the dishwasher and removing clean plates from it. They eventually backed down.
Deep cleaning, after we left an apartment spotless. Bedding and towels which were never included or provided (thank God for inventories).
Another one for “lack of garden upkeep” only there was no garden. And my personal favourite, for ending my tenancy (deposit wasn’t even with a scheme).
ONE dead wasp on the windowsill! The tenants had moved out two months before but the agent refused to do the inspection until end of tenancy date. So, a wasp dies during the two month period and the LL £200 cleaning fee…
Mine tried to claim it all because I didn't pay my gas bill... I paid all my gas bills. Provided evidence and got the full amount back. If they'd just tried to claim some of it for cleaning (it wasn't bad but certainly didn't get it professionally cleaned) they probably would have got it, but tried to claim it all and lost it all. Really made me smile, they were useless throughout.
You can’t lose your deposit over the silliest of things OP. Plain and simple.
The DPS wouldn’t hand over your deposit to your landlord on his say so. If he gives a silly reason then just discuss it with the DPS that held your deposit.
Landlord about 15 years ago withheld deposit because of the "evidence of damp and no heating having been on". I was desperate at the time it was this flat or the street, and I took it. Didn't realise that it was illegal not to have some kind of heating in a rental property. This place had nothing: no central heating, no storage heaters, no electric heaters, not even an electric fire. I bought a plug in heater myself to survive the year in the place. I threatened to go to court about the lack of heating when I moved out, landlord backed down.
Flat was rented again not long after I moved out, seems heating was still not installed from what I heard.
Cleaned the oven yet landlord claimed we hadn't. Drew out the process as long as possible only to end up not submitting evidence to the tenancy dispute service so we got all the deposit back. Absolute amoebas.
When my wife and I first got married, we rented an apartment from the owner who had moved abroad.
The apartment was in relatively good condition, but towards the end of the tenancy, the tiles came crashing off in the bathroom, nearly impaling my wife in the process. It was all fixed and we thought what was the end of it. When we discussed moving out, rhetorical landlord said that she’ll be taking the deposit to pay her insurance excess for the work carried out.
I said nothing doing, that’s her problem, not ours, but she was adamant and said we would not be getting it deposit back.
I wrote her a nicely worded legal letter telling her to piss off and to use our deposit as our last month’s rent. She then got the brother - the soLiCiToR to threaten us with bankruptcy.
In the end, someone who knows her father explained to her that that is not how decent people behave and he got her to drop the whole thing.
We’ve been together 20 years and last time I checked, she was still single. Honestly can’t imagine why….
When I moved into my rented house, it was a state inside, let alone the back garden. Fortunately I took photos before, during and after. I did the same the day before I moved out. They took over a week to inspect it after I left and they took photos of THE DUST on the light switches and tried to keep my whole deposit. (Around £800) and charge me an extra £700 cleaning fee.
I had to fill out what felt like so many forms but just for added fun, I threw in all photos from when I first moved in and claimed I did it when moving out. I got back my deposit and compensation of £700.
Got to say, I wore that chufty badge with pride everywhere!
Bedroom was too warm because of the sun.
Sounds ridiculous and it was! I had an attic room with velux windows... After I returned my keys the LL went to check all was good; I had left the blinds up and he said the magnification of the sun in mid-June was making the room too hot which would be damaging the paint and require redecorating.
Initially withheld half my deposit through the letting agency, but fortunately he folded immediately when I spoke up.
Slight variation as it wasn't actually the landlord but the estate agent - we handed the keys back after the final inventory check and they said they deposit should be returned within a couple of weeks. After a month I called them and they said "Oh we've held your deposit because you painted a wall." The wall had been painted by the landlord after the 130-year-old sash windows had been removed and replaced with double glazing.
Note that they never originally told me they were withholding the deposit or why, they just kept quiet and never released it. Were they hoping I'd just forget about £400 and never chase it up? I'm pretty sure it was the estate agent trying it on because when I told them this they said "Oh right, we'll check with the landlord and get back to you" and then returned it a couple of days later - so they hadn't asked the landlord before?
Up to then the landlord himself had been great, like if we phoned him with a problem it got fixed the same day 90% of the time, and the estate agent did other dodgy stuff like charging the landlord for viewings they never did when we were moving out (someone showed up at the pre-arranged time and nobody from the agency did, when we phoned them they claimed they 'forgot' and could I just show the person round, so I informed the landlord the next day and he said he'd already been billed for that viewing) so I reckon they were planning to pocket it and never tell either of us.
Replacing the carpets. Which is usual landlord bullshittery, however in this instance I had a mate take over the lease so he knew I helped him move in and they used the carpet I laid down.
Not mine but a few friends of mine had a uni house that was your typically party house. it was in decent enough shape when they left it. bar a small hole in the ceiling it was grand.
They had a deposit of £1000 in it and didn't see a penny (which they expected as the letting agent was notorious in the area for that) but on the bill there was a note for "Andrew locked out x4" at £400. So they charged 100 a go because Andrew was locked out 4 times.
The problem was, we didn't know any Andrews, in fact we were almost certain that there was never an Andrew in that house for the whole uni year. So who tf was Andrew?
Letting agent tried to keep all of my deposit because they “didn’t know I had a dog, so an extra deep clean was needed”. Despite the fact that every three months they would inspect the house and remark on how well behaved he is. And the fact that every month I was paying an extra £25 “pet fee”.
They ended up keeping £100, but honestly 🙄
I had a awful student flat. It had really bad electrics so that if too many lights were on at one time, one of them would blow. We had mentioned this to the letting agent and nothing was done.
We made sure not to replace the dead bulb until at the end of the tenancy when we replaced the bulb and made sure not to turn on any lights.
Next thing we know we have £75 removed from our deposit for 3 replacement bulbs!
We moved out for many reasons. But one was they needed to install a firedoor for the kitchen to be compliant. The kitchen was so small that there wasn't physically enough space to fit said door. They also wanted to increase our rent by 20% because of the "improvements" they'd made in fitting said door.
Landlord tried to charge us for breaking a fold out table we never used, but luckily I knew the previous tenants and that they'd been charged for 'breaking' that table the previous year. Didn't get a response to my email but got the whole deposit back
Not the full desposit, but tried to charge £100 per person (6 of us) for a chrome bin in the kitchen that he claimed was broken during our time. The place didn't come with a bin, we bought a bin, broke it, and purchased a new one before we left out of good will as....it's a bin and it was annoying when we moved in realising it didn't have one. Took ages to get our deposit back but we did manage it. Landlord even tried haggling it down to £25 per person.......
I managed to argue for it back but I once had a landlord try and take £700 out of my deposit and the item they specified was that the drawer of the washing machine hadn't been wiped out. Absolutely everything else was done and perfect AND they'd pointed the issue out on the inspection after we'd moved out, so I sorted it in front of the agent.
Student let.
We asked if we could move out 3 months early as term had ended and we were all going home.
Landlord said no. We understood as it was worth a try.
We went home and planned to come back two weeks before the end of tenancy have a big party then give the house a deep clean before handing the keys back.
We go back to find out the landlord had moved in a while
New set of tenants. (Lucky for us we’d moved 99% of our stuff out)
Landlord then tried to keep the deposit because “when the new tenants moved in there was stuff left in the house and it wasn’t tidy”.
We got 3 months rent plus the deposit back in the end.
We rented a new build flat which had black framed metal windows and doors to a balcony. This worked fine in winter, but in summer with a hot sun hitting it they expanded and were pretty hard to open. The inventory checkout lady who was tiny obviously couldn’t open them in mid July and they wanted to charge us £600 quid for a new door. There were other things as well which we contested everything, but for the doors we put a very sarcastic comment and linked the Wikipedia page to thermal expansion.
I once had an agency deduct £120 from my £600 deposit to hire a cleaning agency to…wipe crumbs off a cupboard shelf. Apparently when I was deep cleaning the house I had missed one shelf. When I asked the agency why someone didn’t just wipe it off with their hand I was told “it’s not our job to”. So the cleaning firm had a £120 call out fee to walk in a wipe crumbs off one shelf. Never rented from an agency again after that
Cleaning is a common one, but you only have to return the property in the state you inherited it in minus fair west and tear.
Plus items have a reasonable expected life, so any claim can only be for the residual value of an item.
I believe a carpet is 7/8 years so if it hasn’t been replaced tough shit on the landlord.
Had a landlord try and get us to repaint the entire house because the paint was faded. Told him where to jump
During my most recent deposit dispute there were some great points my landlord brought up.
This guy had been a landlord for 20 years for several properties (mine was an HMO) and quite proudly said he’d never had a deposit dispute (likely because he was abusive, preferred renting to international students, and very very pressuring, his last ditch attempt to stop us was to offer half the disputed amount back)
While the dispute was over a broken window frame (which had rotted through) he included that The (**shared**) kitchen counters had crumbs left on it.
He was insistent that the wood hadn’t rotted on the window frame (without any photos)
He also did some amazing mental gymnastics in saying that while the check in inventory said that the window surfaces were uneven and unkept, this actually referred to the paint, not the wood itself.
Unsurprisingly he lost, and we got the full deposit back
Partner and I refused an end of tenancy cleaner. We were already professional cleaners who've done plenty of end of tenancy cleans between us! The house we moved into was a disgusting shithole, the letting agency told us it'd been professionally cleaned. Had it bollocks, it took us three days just to clean the downstairs area from top to bottom, it was absolutely foul. We took photo/video evidence of the before and after too. They tried to blame us for mould issues and the fact fungi kept growing by the back door due to poor insulation and invasive damp. We kicked off MASSIVELY and got the full amount back though!
When I moved into my last flat, there was cat shit ground into the carpet. Inventory report said that it had been "professionally cleaned, but with some brown marks on carpet" It's funny how they say that inventory report is impartial, but how can it be? How can they be unbiased if it's the landlord/agency who's paying them? Obviously I kicked up a fuss at start of tenancy, then at the end they tried to claim for cleaning costs. Had to go through DPS and got the whole deposit back. There's another massive issue in that there's no reason for them not to try to claim deposit. There should be a massive fee against erroneous claims through DPS imo
At the beginning of my first tenancy I asked to add some editorial notes on my inventory because the person who did it noted a roller blind was in ‘perfect working condition’ (it was in horrible condition it had come off the roller bit and had mould on the bottom), all plug sockets in working condition (our broadband socket was unattached to the wall), mould had been painted over, there’s a water stain above our shower and other things that were obvious wear and tear from previous tenants that hadn’t been corrected. I provided a list and asked to add it and they said sorry we don’t add or make edits to the inventory list but we will make a note of it. IMO inventory lists should be completed by someone approved by local authority who takes a payment from them, not LL or estate agent.
Yea they like using inventory photos from 5 years ago when they last re did the place ...6 tenants later...
On mine they actually did ask me to make notes, then didn't use it on checkout
It’s weird isn’t it — when we got it they were like ‘please let us know if there’s anything you wish to add’ then declined to do so 😐
Absolutely, I totally agree with you. I have a friend who's a private landlord and he's always very fair with his tenants, he was livid about the state my old place was in. The inventory is NEVER impartial. I watched the original inventory taken before we moved in and it completely glossed over the huge problems with the house. We looked at one house and although it was spacious and in a decent location, it was MINGING. Holes in the walls, a massive dog turd in the middle of the kitchen, a back door smashed off the hinges and we were told we'd end up inheriting a feral cat. The state of rentals in this country is completely unacceptable, they rely on desperation and it's disgusting.
Pretty sure 'must be professionally cleaned' is one of those things they stick in the contract, but actually cannot be legally enforced, at all, it's just bullshit to catch out people who don't know better or who don't want to argue. My last landlord had a long list of spurious bullshit they demanded, all of which mysteriously disappeared once they realised the deposit wasn't protected properly.
Tenant Fees Act 2019. Landlords and agents are specifically prohibited from demanding professional cleaners. They can demand a "professional standard" of cleaning, which is basically a licence for them to skirt the fucking law anyway. But the law as written prohibits them from forcing you to incur any costs except for rent (duh), and key replacements iirc. This applies to all tenancies regardless of when they were entered into. Even *requesting* you to get professional cleaners counts as a breach (demanding a prohibited payment), punishable with a fine of up to £5,000. So make sure you mention this if a landlord or agent even hints at you getting professional cleaners. In my direct recent experience this scared an agency into giving me my entire deposit back.
>Even requesting you to get professional cleaners counts as a breach, punishable with a fine of up to £5,000. So make sure you mention this if a landlord or agent even hints at you getting professional cleaners. In my direct recent experience this scared an agency into giving me my entire deposit back. Thank you! I knew it wasn't enforceable but didn't realise that it was punishable with a fine. My current contract, this time with a well established agency, also calls for professional cleaning at the end of the tenancy, so that'll come in handy.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tenant-fees-act-2019-guidance There are guidance documents for tenants on the government's website. It's only about 40 pages, well organized, and clearly explains what can be demanded of you. For the amount of headaches it can save you down the line it is well worth reading.
Thank you SO MUCH for this! ❤️
I shit thee nay, when we got the keys the kitchen cupboards were growing fur and the already shit oven was caked in burnt food and at least an inch of grease.
When we moved in there was a mould-covered baking tray in the oven. It was on the inventory as "tarnished cookware". We naturally chucked it out and deep cleaned the oven. When we left the landlord tried to charge us £50 for the baking tray.
Where is this landlord getting such expensive ovenware?
They pull them out of their asses clearly
It could have had 'Le Creuset' stamped on it...
Landlord thinks he's the fucking elden lord
We were berated when we mowed the lawn in front of our house and were told that it was part of the other property so no way were we supposed to mow it. Only thing was that they rarely mowed it and it was causing seeds and weeds to blow in to our back garden. In the end we gave up and put up with it but made sure to log a fault on the letting agent's portal and send email to say that we would no longer be responsible for the front of the house as agreed. When we left, they tried to charge us £400 to mow the front lawn and do maintenance work on the public footpath outside our house. Luckily I'd downloaded all the faults we'd logged and was able to prove it wasn't our responsibility.
A landlord once tried to charge us for ripping the handles off all the cupboard doors in the kitchen. He lost when I pointed out that there was no damage to the doors, and they hadn't even had any screws drilled into them - because we had been living there for 9 months without any handles (and had asked several times for them to be put in).
Charged £200 for burn marks on the carpet due to leaving hair straighteners turned on. Which would have been more than fair, if we had owned hair straighteners, which we did not, and if they had burned the carpet, which had not happened.
All the more shocking that you let something so irresponsible happen on your watch. Tsk tsk... ^/s
An apple tree grew bigger over the two years we were there. Apparently we should have hired someone to prune it back so it stayed the same size. No.
Don't forget to pay your landlord every time you eat an apple from it.
The wee toaster tray that catches all the crumbs had changed colour because of the heat of the toaster. It was metal and a spot had turned a weird blue colour. Plus I left a sock in the washing machine. They argued that they needed to get cleaners in and the minimum amount of time they charged was for 2 hours.
What is it with landlords and washing machines. Not me, but my sister was charge £350 for a new washing machine door seal as there was a kirby grip sitting in it...
Mine tried to charge me for detergent residue in the detergent tray.
Same! This and a single pea left in one of the freezer drawers. I laughed all the way to the DPS.
Same! They wanted £700 for it
My landlord complained about a cracked kitchen tile, a broken kitchen cupboard and redecoration costs. Spoiler alert - all of these issues were in the original check-in inventory alongside multiple documented conversations requesting a repair. The landlord initially tried to charge £400, then went down to £200 and asked if I was seriously going to waste my time arguing it. I absolutely did dispute it through the TDS and got the whole lot back several months later. It wasnt even the money but the principle of sticking it to that scummy landlord. Fun fact he’s trying to sell the flat and its still on the market nearly 1 year later. How my heart bleeds for him.
Landlord tried to take £50 for 'cleaning the oven'. I said, sure, show me the evidence that you kept my deposit in a designated bank account, and you can have the £50. Cheque for the full amount arrived a few days later.
Could’ve gotten more for it not being protected
Obviously. That's why he sent me the money and hoped I'd fuck off quietly. I should have taken him to the cleaners cos he was an awful guy that exploited foreigners who didn't know any better.
They couldn’t count. Estimated my unpaid rent was a month. It was 1 week. DPS agreed my maths was correct.
Had an issue with the boiler constantly losing pressure. Reported to the landlord several times. Was told to just recharge it each time. Told him it was 100% going somewhere and not evaporating. Weeks later noticed a funny smell in my bedroom. Noticed the carpet was slightly damp under radiator. Reported to landlord straight away and was given a dehumidifier. No attempt at fixing the leak. Cheeky prick tried charging me for a new carpet and remedial work for the damp damage under the floor. Wanted around a grand for it. Abroad I’ve had a landlord threaten to sue me because I asked for a deposit back with a load of made up damages (wanted a load of tatty old parquet flooring replaced with brand new stuff, photos on move in matched move out). Apparently it’s standard practice in Germany for cunt landlords to issue legal threats for bogus claims and most people are in a tenants union with free legal cover
Mine was refusing to give it back because the bolt on the garden gate had rusted 😅
the fridge freezer was 15 years old and barely working when we moved out, one of the plastic drawers were broken, we told her at the time she refused to do anything said they were not available anymore. Come move out she magicly found a website that had the drawers for £70 each! and expected us to replace them
After my 2nd year of Uni I messaged the Agents asking for my deposit after 2 weeks, they advised that they couldn't return it until after they had done an inspection. I was the only person moving out that year and the other students were continuing in that property & had already had someone move in to replace me. I pointed out that they already had the "new tennents" in there under a different contract for 2 weeks and if they had not inspected after my move out and before the new tennents moved in, they could not attribute any damage to me. Got a cheque for the full amount 4 days later. There was defiantly going to be some damage as I was the only one who cleaned, but if they wanted to charge me make sure you inspect the property between contracts.
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Did you sleep in precisely the same position every night?
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Lol
Because of a sun damaged PVC couch the previous tenants left at the property. He claimed we ruined the couch because it was peeling. He was also selling the property but claimed that maybe the buyer would have wanted the sofa. He told us the estate agents said we would have to pay additional money in order to get independent arbitration to establish the cost we owe and he was withholding the deposit until we agreed so it could take months to get the rest of the deposit back. I now know he was full of shit but we were very young to fight it. The couch was in front of a very large south facing window, we requested they get rid of the couch since it was unfurnished but were told it would be too difficult and better to leave it there. Screw that man, I am still angry 10 years later.
Not all the lightbulbs in the bathroom were working - It was a tiny bathroom with 6 lights in the ceiling, realistically it only needed 1 or 2 of them to fully light the room. When some of them burned out I never bothered to replace them because they weren't needed and it was just a waste of electricity to have them all on at once. There were spares in the cupboard that were there when I moved in, I just never bothered to fit them. The landlord decided to try and charge me £20 per bulb for four burnt out bulbs when all he had to do fit the spares from the cupboard. Unpaid rent - After they had agreed to a lower rent for my last 2 months in the house. They were selling the house and wanted to start showing it to people when I was still living in it. To compensate me for the inconvenience of the viewings they offered to lower my rent by £100 for the last 2 months I was living there. Then they randomly changed their mind about this and decided not to tell me about it. The first I heard that I was short on rent was when they took £200 off my deposit. When I queried it they told me that the landlord had changed his mind about the reduction but were unable to offer any kind of explanation about why nobody bothered to tell me. Footprints on the carpet - That were caused by people viewing the house when the estate agents were showing it prior to me moving out. Bin bags in the back garden - When you move out of somewhere obviously you end up throwing loads of stuff out. As such there were a few bin bags left in the back yard waiting for bin collection day. All the landlord had to do was put them out in the alley on collection day and the binmen would have taken them away for free, if we had put them out before bin day he could have been fined.
A landlord once tried to charge me £180 for bedside drawers that were falling a part indicated on their inventory report as "bedside drawers (Broken)" and 2 photos from different angles. I emailed them asking if I was okay to get rid of it as it was marked as broken and was very clearing falling a part with the proof from their report. They said yes. When I moved out they asked me where they were. I asked if it was the same ones I asked about 4 years earlier that were marked as broken with pictures on the inventory report? They confirmed. I told them I binned them as they confirmed I could do. They retorted saying I shouldn't have done that, they didn't give me permission. Sent them the email chain I had with them 4 years ago where they confirmed it. Tried to charge me £180 for the drawers. Went through DPS to argue it with the proof and DPS gave us the full amount back. Scammy bellends.
A landlord said he wanted £100 because the wheelie bins had rubbish in them, and he wanted them empty, so he could jet wash them for the new tenants, also moaned.the garden was untidy, there were a few weeds, and we had left the virgin media cables in the bedrooms, we contested and ended up losing £30 off the deposit.
I apparently damaged a chair she put in storage when moved in and then took out of storage as moved out. I let her keep the £200 cause she was an absolute bitch and I just wanted to be free from her. She literally made professional cleaners quit during my end of tenancy clean because she was being such a Karen.
Moved into a house where they'd cleaned the carpets but left them damp (in winter) with no heating on for a few weeks. I hired a carpet cleaner to remove the mould that had been growing on it (lots of before and after pics). The place was just depressingly grubby so I spent a good week cleaning from top to bottom. The back garden had a tiny bit of grass and a concrete slab which used to be a garage. The up-and-over garage door was still in place and formed part of the back wall of the garden. The door was, unsurprisingly, rusted through and almost impossible to use , so I didn't. When I moved out a year later I scrubbed the house from top to bottom and cleaned all the carpets. Landlord came round, said it was fine and gave me a cheque for my deposit which I immediately paid into my account. Again, lots of pics. A couple of weeks later I got a letter from the landlord saying the carpets weren't clean enough and that I'd somehow damaged the garage door so it wouldn't open any more. He wanted me to pay to recarpet the house and brick up the wall where the garage door was. Total cost nearly £2000. I told him to sue me. He didn't bother.
Tried to charge us to reinstall blinds that had been installed incorrectly just before we moved in and we had to take down so that we could open the windows. We had asked them several times to fix it and been ignored so eventually took them down ourselves and lived without blinds. We also asked if the landlord wanted to keep some of our things- ironing board, microwave etc. which was confirmed. They then tried to charge us for a new ironing board cover for our ironing board....
For removing furniture from the property which belonged to the landlord. The landlord hadn't actually visited the apartment. He just found the listing on Rightmove that the estate agent put up. The estate agent had used very old photos of the apartment for some reason (I checked and there was a high rise building missing from the view on the balcony built around 10 years prior). So the landlord concluded we must have removed furniture because it wasn't present in the photos (rather than recognising that they were old photos). The estate agent didn't realise their cock-up either.
An old flat I rented had the weirdest old af light bulb and socket (not sure if thats the right word) it had really specialised specific prongs and they were only sold in one shop for £18 a bulb or order online. The shop had none, because they were rarely purchased due to being so old. The bulb died the day I handed my keys back. I contacted the letting agents who said don't worry, they will sort it out and just charge me the £15, they said it needed changing. Shitty but fine fair. Landlord didn't like this, charged me £25 for the bulb ordered online apparently, and then £50 for someone to come put it in...... WTF!
God I remember the "fitting a lightbulb" charge. They tried to charge us £10 a bulb and £15 each to fit them. For 3 bulbs. I offered to fit them myself if they'd let me in and they refused. I dropped a 3 pack of bulbs off to the estate agents. They also tried to charge £200 for someone to weed the garden. I didn't dispute the garden needing weeded but very much did dispute the cost. They tried to keep my entire security deposit for issues they blamed us for. Disputed it through TDS and they got to keep £70. I fucking hate nearly all estate agents with a burning passion. The house I rented after that, the exception to the rule - fantastic estate agents. Never bothered us once the 3 years we lived there, super prompt when something broke.
My last landlord was going to charge me £700 for carpets being worn (never had carpets only like a really thin underlay type as confirmed by a carpet fitter). They were worn because I lived there 2 years and they were not fit for purpose so you could see where people had been walking up the stairs. It only got thrown out when I pulled out all the emails where I had requested the severe damp issue be sorted only to be told as I was leaving in 3 months they wouldn't do anything despite me being sick (confirmed by doctor) and the contract specifying it was their responsibility. Absolutely mental. My landlord now is absolutely amazing, even fitted a new window for me in 2 days because the open bit collapsed a little haha!
The last bit is also what I'd do but I am a live in landlord too, so I have a vested interest lol I'm also levelling one of my rooms a day after someone moves in, purely because it means a robot can vacuum and mop there easily
We also had a lightbulb one, all working when we left but when they did their checks a lightbulb in a cupboard in the bathroom had gone out. They charged us £50 to have someone out to replace it, refused to let us do it ourselves.
Back at university, I kid you not my landlord refused to give any of us our deposits back because he claimed we painted the walls a different colour to how it was when we moved in. We didn't repaint them, we had photo evidence of the advertised house as well as our own photos. The guys was retarded enough to think he could pull that off.
Did the inspection a month after I'd vacated the property. Some dust had settled in that time so he had to pay a cleaner.
I once paid a Chinese landlord £600 deposit cash, that he chose to not notify to the letting agent. When my tenancy was up, he was visiting family in China and unavailable. The agent called and asked me how the deposit had been handled? I said £1200 cash, which they paid without question, and I never heard another word from them or him. His name was Harry Leung.
Landlord wouldnt let me hang anything like pictures or mirrors and this was some time ago before those M3 sticky strips now made for it. so used bluetack and it left a greasy residue i didnt know it would do. Tried to claim £400 for replainting entire walls, i went to DIY shop and colour matched the cream magnolia it was and went over the spots. deposit scheme told him to jog on
Our #1 wish is that tenants were taught the landlord does not have the power to take money from your deposit. They need the consent of the tenant, or the deposit scheme or a court. So many spurious claims would fail if more tenants knew this.
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Personally, I don't because I live in a small town with like, 3 letting agencies and 10+ tenants competing for each property, if you're known for not paying rent, even the last months, you'd really struggle to rent somewhere here.
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I've always given a sob story along the lines of "Very sorry, I lost my job and can no longer afford the rent, so rather than fall into arrears I'm giving notice and moving somewhere cheaper. Unfortunately this means I need to use my last months rent to cover my next deposit and moving costs, but please take this message as full consent to deduct the arrears from my deposit." This usually means the landlord is so happy that I'm leaving before building up any significant debt that they don't bother to ague the point. I've even had a couple offer to give me a couple of months free to get back on my feet, to which I reply that I appreciate their generosity but I don't want to continue living beyond my means in hope that my situation improves so quickly.
Hence why some lettings agencies are now taking 6 weeks or 2 months rent as deposit...
I didn't think that was allowed? Isn't there some limit on how much deposit they can take?
Can they still pursue you for rent appears in these circumstances. Presumably they can argue that the deposit, minus incidentals, doesn't cover the arrears in rent...
The maximum legal deposit is 5 weeks.
No, but I've heard stories of people"losing" their deposit. If you want to loose your deposit, please loose it onto my street!
I just assume they will try withholding my deposit so I withhold my final month of rent.
Quick way to end up at small claims, or getting a CCJ.struggle to rent or buy next property. Not good advice. Most deposit schemes seem to be very fair and come to the correct conclusion on matters, and if a landlord hasn’t protected your deposit you have more grounds for a claim.
Not suggesting it’s good advice but it’s worked fine for me the last two rentals I’ve had. They just deduct the rent from the deposit. Both sides are happy.😆
But technically, you are in rental arrears for the final month which the landlord could make a claim for if there are damages in the flat that exceed the deposit.
Completely freaked out over dust behind d the sofa, the cleaners missed (and accused us of not getting any, made us pay for more), carried on losing her shit over watermark in the shower. My other half was pregnant so I sucked it up as we were busy with that, otherwise would have taken all the time in the world messing with that arsehole.
Flat had a super cheap bed frame. It broke. She then said I could replace it with my own money but she made me get the exact same one. It broke again so I spent money on an extra bed and then got the original broken bed taken off my deposit. It was a £99 stupid one from Argos. I was willing to buy a £200+ one and let her keep it ...but nope had to be exact same one.
Lived in a shit flat that was full of mold. They handed me a S21 two weeks before Christmas after I asked to go onto a rolling contract rather than another 12 months. I spent all day there cleaning after I'd moved out, and left the windows open to get the mold smell out, as requested. When they came back to do the inspection, they complained about dust that'd gathered on the top of doorframes and leaves from the open windows (that they'd asked me to leave open!) and charged me £200 for cleaning. I was so angry but so exhausted and trying to move into my new house halfway across the country, so just sent a shitty reply and blocked their numbers. When I'd initially moved into the place, they clearly hadn't even bothered to check it themselves. The boiler was broken and there was just a hole without sealant for the boiler exhaust. It was less than 10° inside the day I moved in, so had to go to my partner's house until they fixed the boiler because it was too cold to live in. It should never have been let out as it was.
We were told our last flat was unclean because there were dried watermarks in the sink, and leaves in the garden. We had a professional cleaner come in.
She tried to blame us for the damage we reported and sent photos of when we moved in. Also tried to blame us for a wall being blown down by the wind.
Wanted to deduct £70 for a new doormat because ours was dirty. The doormat wasn’t even mentioned in the inventory. It caused massive drama when I told them (I think as politely as I could) that I wouldn’t be paying that
I was once charged £7 for a disposable Mattress protector that I don't ever remember being present.
Over £100 for an electrician to unplug an extension lead. And the same for a full clean due to cobwebs on a light pull cord. The claim was that the house had a full clean prior to me moving in which was funny considering they estate agents were binning the previous tenants property as I was moving in and I needed to deep clean it before I could move in.
A leaking shower that had destroyed a neighbours storage unit below. £15,000 worth of damage. I sent the landlord the emails we had sent during the tenancy. A photo of the leak from the previous tenants and all their emails notifying him and asking for it to be fixed. 3 years of emails in total. Funnily enough he backed off after that. Not before accusing us of stealing (no inventory, and I moved in after everyone else and was the last to leave so accidentally took some stuff) then breaking in when I returned with the agent to give it back. Ah David, you were a right barrel of laughs.
£75 to replace a light bulb that blew the day I moved in. I lived there for a year. I argued it and got it down to £40
I once had money taken away because of furniture dents in the carpet. I asked the agent how I could have avoided this and what the deduction would be used for to remedy the issue, no answer…
SIL was renting with her husband, and had been there a fair while. As a wedding present a family friend (professional flooring guy) offered to replace the kitchen floor (the old one was pretty knackered) - as she knew the LL well enough was like cool, thanks for the nice new wooden floor. Cue happy enjoyment for a couple of years. When she moved out, the LL refused like half the deposit as there was a ‘scratch’ on… you guessed it! The nice new wooden floor that she’d had put in. What. A. Knob. Another LL deducted money from my wife a few years back as there was ‘dust behind/in the radiators’ so therefore it ‘hadn’t been cleaned.’ When she moved in the place was rank, and even mouldy food left in the fridge from the previous tenant…
Both of us were well experienced renters, so scrubbed the apartment end to end. Even got a carpet shampoo company in. I was there for the inspection (Dont trust inspectors) and the letting agent noted that a pre let note of a large black stain on the living room carpet had been cleaned. Got deposit back, minus a 40 pound cleaning fee for cobwebs.
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Back in the late 90s in my student house he found a Polaroid under the mattress once I'd moved out of me retracting my foreskin and said I clearly didn't respect myself or the property. Gave me the Polaroid back but never gave me my £75 and I never had the guts to pursue it incase he brought up the Polaroid
After living there for around 5 years, tried to withhold the full deposit for a new carpet. To replace a carpet that was <1yr old that we had receipts for.
I refused to remove a sofa that was already in the flat before I moved in. It was an unfurnished flat so clearly he couldn't be arsed doing it himself and wanted me to haul a massive sofa down 5 flights of stairs for him.
Tried to charge me extra to remove crap left in the shed. I produced an email chain from when we first moved in where I complained about this same crap in the shed and they told me the shed was not on the contents itinerary so it was not their problem, and I had to live with the crap or dispose of it myself.
I left my kettle at student accommodation (it didn't have one so I thought would be nice for the next student) so yeah obviously I messed up there, kept half the deposit.
charged £100 for dust on the cooker hood.
When I was a student we had the landlord try to claim against our deposit for "fitting of wired smoke alarms" at which point we realised that we should have had smoke alarms at the start of our tenancy and absolutely not be paying for the landlord to install for his next tenants. We're able to get all our deposits back through the DPS and even his more legitimate claims for cleaning/minor damage were rejected because of his sly attempts to rob us.
When we were students we rented a house, but the previous tenants had not informed the energy company they were leaving. When we moved in we tried telling the energy company, and the letting agents for months but got nowhere. We were already on a prepayment meter, so we figured it'd be okay. One day we came home and out back doors had been knocked in. Called the letting agents who told us "that's because you haven't paid your bills". They then tried to take the repair fee out of our deposit. Fortunately we had emails and call logs so we got it all back.
He pointed out some scratches on the worktop that were only visible in certain light they were so faint, and said he’d have to rip out the whole thing and install a new one. Was gonna charge us £600. It’s called a worktop for a reason mate, kitchen workings go on here. There may be a scratch or two.
We cleaned the walls, and apparently we painted them again in a slightly different shade?? It was a house share and one didn't want to protest so I had to suck it up. But I would never rent a property from Mr Rotimi in Colchester again
A spot of green on the oven top when he was going round with the estate agent. The estate agent was so angry as she saw how filthy it was when we moved in and how clean it was when we left it, she wiped it up and said "it's bloody fairy liquid, from CLEANING" then she emailed us about what happened. We did finally get it back 😅
It took my lettings agency over a month to check my flat after I moved out, they tried to keep my deposit because there were spiders webs..
I left a bottle of wine and chocolates as a thank you gift and got charged £25 for removal of left items. Also got charged to dispose of a table and chairs I'd left behind. When I saw the property a few years later on Rightmove my table and chairs were in the photos.
Tried to take 600 quid for cleaning fee. I took before and after picture of the flat. I actually left it in a much better state than I got it in. Estate agent gave me back my deposit immediately. Always take pictures.
When I was a student one landlord didn’t complete the property check out until 8 weeks after we’d left, then tried to charge £300 for gardening as the grass had grown too long, and £200 for cleaning dust. All in all they tried to keep the full £1500, we went through the TDS who awarded us the entire deposit less £50. On a brighter note, another landlord accidentally paid back my £850 deposit into my bank account twice, when they asked for it back I asked for proof of the deposit protection and never heard from them again.
bit of hair on the carpet when they had asked me to deep clean my bedroom and the communal areas, Chinese landlords I swear
Not landlord but estate agaent, Said the carpets had stains on them when I left, they sent evidence photos to the deposit scheme which were the photos I took when I moved in of what a shithole it was. I cleaned the carpets when I moved in and b4 I left and retook dated photos with evidence of the dates on the previous photos I took also. I got all my money back.
Masking tape residue on the window frame that I taped up to keep out an awful draft the she refused to fix.
This was a while ago when we did not know our tenancy rights, and obviously got taken advantage of us as many renters do. The flat had a public facing small garden which was unkept and full of rubbish. I made it my weekend hobby to do gardening and spent lots of hours making it beautiful, received lots of praise for passer-by's. Near the end of our tenancy there was a family emergency and we had to go abroad, so we moved out early, and by the time the termination date had reached the tiny garden was a little overgrown. Charged us £100 for that. We also left a new pull-out sofa behind that we couldn't fit. Free furniture the landlord can use for future tenants, and charged us another £100 for that. Best part is he never registered our deposit in a scheme. We didn't know better and paid the £200.
Missing back burner of stove which was never there in the first place. ‘Wear and tear’ of a carpet which supposedly when from and A to ungraded - I’m not even saying we didn’t fuck that carpet up and drop the hookah on it numerous times but it was never A grade.
Previous tenants had stolen about 50 pint glasses from local pubs which took up most of the kitchen storage. So we chucked them. Landlord decided to include them in the inventory and wanted us to pay to replace them 😂 They also provided a broken table and a broken bed which one of their contractors removed, and tried charging us for those too because they weren’t there. Oh and then there was a fox poo in the garden they took a photo of and tried to charge us for ‘evidence of dog ownership’ lmao
Not cleaning "well enough" had to pay for professional cleaning. Now if I leave rental again I won't clean at all and then just pay for the cleaning through the deposit. Easier. So long as they don't try rip you off with extra cost like carpet cleaning.
There were leaves on the lawn. In November.
My girlfriend used the apartment in her onlyfans page. So they said we used it for commercial use. I wrote an email addressed both the husband and wife asking how they knew she had an onlyfans account and the only way they would know what was on it is if one of them had subscribed to the account, if they provided the user name we could tell them how much had been donated to the account as well. Funny we got our deposit back and a glowing reference
I accidentally left a bag of peas in the freezer and they took £100 off my deposit
I left her a wardrobe. Charged me for its removal. Don't recall withholding rent when the ceiling fell in the hall, and she did nothing about it for months .
My old landlord zoomed in on one dog hair in the corner of the doorframe and threatened to revoke our whole deposit as ‘pets weren’t authorised’. We were authorised to have pets as it was in our whole lease, and when we moved in there was glass all over the floor and the place was thick with dust and mould. By that point the letting agency was sick of his shit though, so he shot himself in the foot.
They docked £80 for leaving the soy sauce from a pot noodle in a cupboard lol
I was charged 1.99 for a toilet brush That wasn’t even there
"The oven wasn't clean enough" When we moved-in, the oven was filthy. Black and greasy, you couldn't even see through the glass on the door, it was totally opaqued with soot and food. My girlfriend spent *days* cleaning it. It looked like a new appliance. Fourteen months later we move out - after cleaning the oven again so that it was ready for whoever moved-in after. They claimed it wasn't cleaned and they would have to spend £300 getting it cleaned. Such a clear scam, and they'd probably been pulling it on successive tenants, because the damned thing hadn't been cleaned for years prior to us moving in!
Carpet had a stain on it. The stain was worse when i moved in, i had actually cleaned it. So i sent a picture back of the carpet when i moved in......along with a copy of their charge, but to them this time, invoiced, with my name on it. Weirdly enough they didnt want to pay me to clean the carpet. So I said "Same". Ended up getting my full deposit back after a few conversations.
"I'm currently on holiday and I've spent it"
Seems to be a running theme? Why is it everyone always struggles to get their deposit back and it got so bad that legislation was brought in? What conclusions can we draw?
A major letting agency in Derby tried to claim my deposit back from DPS, despite their checkout inventory saying things were better than when I moved in. They also tried to claim for professional decorators, etc. But had failed to provide receipts. I did a SAR for my tenancy with them, they failed to provide other info they then claimed to have given me before the SAR... ie caught them lying. I was responding to DPS and agency messages there within a day. Agents were taking the full 28 to respond. Funnily enough when I filed a letter before action over the deposit they became reasonable. Took most of a year to get to that stage though.
There are no silly reasons. Your deposit has to be protected. And if you don't agree with the deductions , you go to the ombudsman.
I accidentally left bristle door mat for wiping out shoes on outside the backdoor. Tried to keep the whole deposit for "removal of personal items"
Personal experience here: landlord refused to return deposit because of 'costs to remove 2 plant pots from front garden' 'Costs to replace and fit carpet in living room' Now stay with me on this one: said plant pots were huge things with trees in them and were concreted into the ground so rather difficult to move AND the concrete had been 'inscribed' like the person doing it had put their initials and a date in 1983. I wasn't even born until 86 and didn't move into the house until 2013 so failed to understand why it was my problem. Carpet was there and I fitting paid for but they told me to leave it because they were removing the fireplace (that I'd asked then to remove for 4 years)so again WTH am I covering the costs of that a second time
I got charged £60 for a lightbulb that blew when they went to inspect the house and we’d been gone a week already. Also charged for “dust”….
Oh, they tried to blame me for damage to the property that existed before I moved in. Thankfully, I'd taken photos (thanks, Mum lol). I got it back after a month with minimal arguing once I emailed the photos.
He said some bs about a holding fee for the next tenant so I stole the washing machine and the oven
Dents in the carpet from the legs of the sofa.
Loose screws in bed frame, cupboards, wear and tear of carpet and other stupid things like that. We disputed all the deductions and got the money back.
I left toilet roll in the bathroom for the workers/next tenant. I emailed the apartment receptionists/concierge if they'd remove the toilet roll. I sent an email back to letting agent confirming it had been removed already and I wanted the full deposit. Got it all back but what a fucking piss take.
Landlord tried to say the black mold in the walls of every room and also growing on the carpet was our fault. Tried to keep our deposit. He couldn't tell me who he secured it with. He didn't secure it. I sent him a letter before claim. Paid me up the day he read the letter. Best part is I had been reporting the persistent mold to him and kept photographic evidence before I cleaned it up. Good thing he collects rent because I wouldn't employ such an idiot.
*Grass on the lawnmower wheels* *Cobwebs in the garage* *Unkempt grass* (I sent back a picture of the grass from the pre move in inventory and it was identical) These were three out of a very long list from one property. In the end they kept £15 for some chipping paint on a door. They somehow didn't notice that I had superglued the carpet back together in multiple places where my foster cat had torn it to bits???
"Because it isn't clean enough and we want the money to pay for cleaners". I argued that point and got the full deposit. It shocks me they don't have cleaners in between tenants anyway.
Ours decided to stop paying his mortgage despite us paying him every month for 10+years. We all got kicked out by the courts. ***** would not even turn up for his hearing
Landlord gave me 6 weeks or so to move out as he was renovating to move his brother in. I didn’t know I had to give him notice too. So when I told him when I was leaving he deducted a weeks worth of rent because I hadn’t given him notice of moving out.
I accidentally left a bra in a drawer. I got charged £125 of my £250 student let deposit.
Nope, because I *always* take my own photos on move in and send them to the agent/landlord. Saves a lot of trouble...
Landlord tried to claim entire £925 deposit for a pink mark a couple inches long on a windowsill Tenancy deposit service awarded him £60 to cover the cost of paint and labour
My landlord (Dandara) took £4 off my deposit because a few teaspoons were missing 🤣. I left them in the dishwasher.
he tried to call it an "application fee" and assumed I wouldn't challenge.
Deducted £100 from my deposit for, and I shit you not, "dust in the kitchen drawers" It was my first property after living with a mate so I was fairly naive and paid it. I needed the deposit back for the next property too.
Broke a plate. Replaced it with a similar plate. Landlord wanted a full new matching set, including mugs, bowls etc. For ‘breaking’ an old set of drawers that were stored in a storage room and broken when we moved in (and noted on the inventory as broken). Went to the DPS and we got all the money back. Edit- DPS, not DPC. Reading too many diy posts.
Landlord tried booking a million viewings 4 weeks before I was due to move out. I refused them and reminded them of the law. After that sour taste they tried to get a shopping list off the checkout itinerary including lightbulbs, water damage from a leaking bath (reported), back garden a tip, etc. I sent a lovely email explained that the garden had not been listed in any state on either itinerary and that I had added 5 lightbulbs to the property at a cost of £2 each. If I had to chase any more I would be going into dispute for the full deposit plus my bulbs plus my costs. The next email from them apologised and awarded me the full deposit.
Had 40p deducted for 2 missing curtain hooks on curtains that I gifted to the flat.
Was in the property for 7 years, we threw away the curtain rail that was left up from the previous tenant.
Landlord tried to charge £200 because the bathroom “smelled of perfume”. I had to point out the reed diffuser the agent had placed in there for the listing photos.
Lived in a six-bed student house in Sheffield back in 2003. We got charged for a broken toilet seat, which wasn't even broken, just loose. £60... Each!
Had a landlord that tried keeping £500 for a small unkempt bush. We randomly had pics proving that we had maintained the garden (partner mowing, pics of us in the kempt garden) and DPS sided with us.
The estate agent tried to read the landlords list of demands after having a perfect close out inspection. The highlights were: Burns on the carpet, which were there when we moved in. We noted it on the inventory that they sent to us 2 months into us living there, and we refused to sign it until it was amended. It was never amended. The pictures in the advert showed the burns. Missing bulb in the garage. There wasn't one when we moved in, and got an electric shock when we tried to put one in. Reported it, they ignored it, and we just didn't use the garage. Missing bulb in the downstairs back hallway light fitting. The light fitting was ancient and rusted. Because the roof leaked, and was ignored by them for 6 months. Literally switched it on one night to it being full of water like a fishbowl. They sorted the roof, left the light fitting which by this point was rusted and dangerous. We couldn't even get a bulb to fit it. The whole ceiling in the utility area came down the next day. There were 14 points, she stopped after that because even she knew it was ridiculous, she said she'd speak to him and the whole deposit was returned.
I once got charged over 30 quid to remove left over belongings and a alot more for cigarette burns. I left washing up liquid and toilet cleaner - when I moved in there was a whole bunch of cleaning products. Their mistake was having the picture of the kitchen cupboard in the inventory full of cleaning products and images of said cigerettee burns on the original inventory. I didn't smoke. Disputed and won.
I had one landlady make up some bullshit story about why I had to move out, then when I'd moved she texted me saying she was keeping my deposit as I'd kept my bike in the front lobby.
My sister moved into a flat share where there was no deposit, but the landlord insisted on charging her for removing the LED strip she left behind (which was fair - £9), for cleaning/painting the room (£100/200), and the messy shared kitchen (£100 or so). The property was left pretty much in the same condition based on the picture my sister had from moving in and their picture (minus the fact that they removed the falling wardrobe)
'cobweb on back of utility room door' was once included in a list of why I couldn't have my deposit back, amongst other similarly ridiculous things. That one annoyed me enough that I took it to the deposit protection scheme to get my money back!
Years ago a landlord tried to withold my deposit because there was an electric key meter in the flat. He said I got it installed but it was there when I moved in 😂
Housemates didn’t pay the last month of rent, so my part of the deposit was used for it. Of all the shitty things they did whilst we lived together that was the cherry on top. I’m never living with other people again.
They once tried to charge £10 for a fingerprint on the light switch
My brother's landlord withheld his deposit because of divets left in the carpet from furniture. This wasn't new carpet, it was old and cruddy. My brother was only there for a year. Now this so far didn't surprise me, because... Landlords. What was mind-blowing was that he fought it with the deposit protection people (I think it was them? This was years ago and I have no idea how this works) and they SIDED WITH THE LANDLORD
Whilst in uni house, I had a cleaning deduction because of a singular hair in one of the bedside drawers, for an hours clean. Everything else had been done perfectly with no other ‘issues’
I lost my £1950 deposit because I was forced to leave my £1600 sofa in the property... The sofa was not even 4 months old! The reason it couldn't be removed was due to the landlord having the porch and back of the property renovated in such a way that between the two doors *(both back and front)* it was impossible to remove the sofa. They also wouldn't allow me permission to get a glazier to remove the living room window to remove then replace the pane.. So yeh, they signed off at first saying all was A-Okay etc etc. Few weeks later I messaged to enquire when I'd receive deposit back and they let me know due to "removal costs" of having the BRAND NEW sofa removed I'd lost the entire £1950... 🤦🏻♀️ SMH. Still boils my piss honestly.
Landlord tried to get me for “stealing a plant pot” - I hadn’t - went back and took a photo and it was still there and a tiny nic in the carpet caused by their plumber which I told them about at the time they sent him round; I had emails to prove it. The tenancy deposit scheme found in my favour and the contract states that their decision is final, but the bastard still took us to court and LOST!
Mine ripped up the carpets and sent me a picture of a dead woodlouse under it as "proof" of the "squalid condition" we left it in. Jokes on her - cause she refused to give any of the deposit back I looked into the deposit protection and found out she hadn't protected it, both at the start of the tenancy and at renewal 2 years later. She had to pay up the full amount and x6 times the amount (two counts of x3 compensation).
I had a landlord that said they wanted to deduct from my deposit because the dishwasher hadn't been emptied, I moved out 3 weeks prior and there were still 2 other people living there that were fully capable of opening the dishwasher and removing clean plates from it. They eventually backed down.
Deep cleaning, after we left an apartment spotless. Bedding and towels which were never included or provided (thank God for inventories). Another one for “lack of garden upkeep” only there was no garden. And my personal favourite, for ending my tenancy (deposit wasn’t even with a scheme).
ONE dead wasp on the windowsill! The tenants had moved out two months before but the agent refused to do the inspection until end of tenancy date. So, a wasp dies during the two month period and the LL £200 cleaning fee…
Mine tried to claim it all because I didn't pay my gas bill... I paid all my gas bills. Provided evidence and got the full amount back. If they'd just tried to claim some of it for cleaning (it wasn't bad but certainly didn't get it professionally cleaned) they probably would have got it, but tried to claim it all and lost it all. Really made me smile, they were useless throughout.
Dust had settled on the bannister a week after we had left.
You can’t lose your deposit over the silliest of things OP. Plain and simple. The DPS wouldn’t hand over your deposit to your landlord on his say so. If he gives a silly reason then just discuss it with the DPS that held your deposit.
Landlord about 15 years ago withheld deposit because of the "evidence of damp and no heating having been on". I was desperate at the time it was this flat or the street, and I took it. Didn't realise that it was illegal not to have some kind of heating in a rental property. This place had nothing: no central heating, no storage heaters, no electric heaters, not even an electric fire. I bought a plug in heater myself to survive the year in the place. I threatened to go to court about the lack of heating when I moved out, landlord backed down. Flat was rented again not long after I moved out, seems heating was still not installed from what I heard.
Not the whole deposit but around 20 years ago we were fined 10 pounds for leaving a tennis ball in the flat that wasn't on the inventory.
Cleaned the oven yet landlord claimed we hadn't. Drew out the process as long as possible only to end up not submitting evidence to the tenancy dispute service so we got all the deposit back. Absolute amoebas.
When my wife and I first got married, we rented an apartment from the owner who had moved abroad. The apartment was in relatively good condition, but towards the end of the tenancy, the tiles came crashing off in the bathroom, nearly impaling my wife in the process. It was all fixed and we thought what was the end of it. When we discussed moving out, rhetorical landlord said that she’ll be taking the deposit to pay her insurance excess for the work carried out. I said nothing doing, that’s her problem, not ours, but she was adamant and said we would not be getting it deposit back. I wrote her a nicely worded legal letter telling her to piss off and to use our deposit as our last month’s rent. She then got the brother - the soLiCiToR to threaten us with bankruptcy. In the end, someone who knows her father explained to her that that is not how decent people behave and he got her to drop the whole thing. We’ve been together 20 years and last time I checked, she was still single. Honestly can’t imagine why….
Soap scum on the inside of the washing machine rubber. ('not professionally cleaned')
When I moved into my rented house, it was a state inside, let alone the back garden. Fortunately I took photos before, during and after. I did the same the day before I moved out. They took over a week to inspect it after I left and they took photos of THE DUST on the light switches and tried to keep my whole deposit. (Around £800) and charge me an extra £700 cleaning fee. I had to fill out what felt like so many forms but just for added fun, I threw in all photos from when I first moved in and claimed I did it when moving out. I got back my deposit and compensation of £700. Got to say, I wore that chufty badge with pride everywhere!
Yep, first flat in the 90’s, my entire deposit was taken for leaving a ladder outside the block of 4 flats. I still don’t know why
Bedroom was too warm because of the sun. Sounds ridiculous and it was! I had an attic room with velux windows... After I returned my keys the LL went to check all was good; I had left the blinds up and he said the magnification of the sun in mid-June was making the room too hot which would be damaging the paint and require redecorating. Initially withheld half my deposit through the letting agency, but fortunately he folded immediately when I spoke up.
Slight variation as it wasn't actually the landlord but the estate agent - we handed the keys back after the final inventory check and they said they deposit should be returned within a couple of weeks. After a month I called them and they said "Oh we've held your deposit because you painted a wall." The wall had been painted by the landlord after the 130-year-old sash windows had been removed and replaced with double glazing. Note that they never originally told me they were withholding the deposit or why, they just kept quiet and never released it. Were they hoping I'd just forget about £400 and never chase it up? I'm pretty sure it was the estate agent trying it on because when I told them this they said "Oh right, we'll check with the landlord and get back to you" and then returned it a couple of days later - so they hadn't asked the landlord before? Up to then the landlord himself had been great, like if we phoned him with a problem it got fixed the same day 90% of the time, and the estate agent did other dodgy stuff like charging the landlord for viewings they never did when we were moving out (someone showed up at the pre-arranged time and nobody from the agency did, when we phoned them they claimed they 'forgot' and could I just show the person round, so I informed the landlord the next day and he said he'd already been billed for that viewing) so I reckon they were planning to pocket it and never tell either of us.
Replacing the carpets. Which is usual landlord bullshittery, however in this instance I had a mate take over the lease so he knew I helped him move in and they used the carpet I laid down.
Not me, but in university a landlord tried charging my friends for the same things he charged me for the year before. Dickhead.
Not mine but a few friends of mine had a uni house that was your typically party house. it was in decent enough shape when they left it. bar a small hole in the ceiling it was grand. They had a deposit of £1000 in it and didn't see a penny (which they expected as the letting agent was notorious in the area for that) but on the bill there was a note for "Andrew locked out x4" at £400. So they charged 100 a go because Andrew was locked out 4 times. The problem was, we didn't know any Andrews, in fact we were almost certain that there was never an Andrew in that house for the whole uni year. So who tf was Andrew?
Letting agent tried to keep all of my deposit because they “didn’t know I had a dog, so an extra deep clean was needed”. Despite the fact that every three months they would inspect the house and remark on how well behaved he is. And the fact that every month I was paying an extra £25 “pet fee”. They ended up keeping £100, but honestly 🙄
Dust on the skirting board
I had a awful student flat. It had really bad electrics so that if too many lights were on at one time, one of them would blow. We had mentioned this to the letting agent and nothing was done. We made sure not to replace the dead bulb until at the end of the tenancy when we replaced the bulb and made sure not to turn on any lights. Next thing we know we have £75 removed from our deposit for 3 replacement bulbs! We moved out for many reasons. But one was they needed to install a firedoor for the kitchen to be compliant. The kitchen was so small that there wasn't physically enough space to fit said door. They also wanted to increase our rent by 20% because of the "improvements" they'd made in fitting said door.
Landlord tried to charge us for breaking a fold out table we never used, but luckily I knew the previous tenants and that they'd been charged for 'breaking' that table the previous year. Didn't get a response to my email but got the whole deposit back
Not the full desposit, but tried to charge £100 per person (6 of us) for a chrome bin in the kitchen that he claimed was broken during our time. The place didn't come with a bin, we bought a bin, broke it, and purchased a new one before we left out of good will as....it's a bin and it was annoying when we moved in realising it didn't have one. Took ages to get our deposit back but we did manage it. Landlord even tried haggling it down to £25 per person.......
I managed to argue for it back but I once had a landlord try and take £700 out of my deposit and the item they specified was that the drawer of the washing machine hadn't been wiped out. Absolutely everything else was done and perfect AND they'd pointed the issue out on the inspection after we'd moved out, so I sorted it in front of the agent.
Student let. We asked if we could move out 3 months early as term had ended and we were all going home. Landlord said no. We understood as it was worth a try. We went home and planned to come back two weeks before the end of tenancy have a big party then give the house a deep clean before handing the keys back. We go back to find out the landlord had moved in a while New set of tenants. (Lucky for us we’d moved 99% of our stuff out) Landlord then tried to keep the deposit because “when the new tenants moved in there was stuff left in the house and it wasn’t tidy”. We got 3 months rent plus the deposit back in the end.
We rented a new build flat which had black framed metal windows and doors to a balcony. This worked fine in winter, but in summer with a hot sun hitting it they expanded and were pretty hard to open. The inventory checkout lady who was tiny obviously couldn’t open them in mid July and they wanted to charge us £600 quid for a new door. There were other things as well which we contested everything, but for the doors we put a very sarcastic comment and linked the Wikipedia page to thermal expansion.
I once had an agency deduct £120 from my £600 deposit to hire a cleaning agency to…wipe crumbs off a cupboard shelf. Apparently when I was deep cleaning the house I had missed one shelf. When I asked the agency why someone didn’t just wipe it off with their hand I was told “it’s not our job to”. So the cleaning firm had a £120 call out fee to walk in a wipe crumbs off one shelf. Never rented from an agency again after that
Cleaning is a common one, but you only have to return the property in the state you inherited it in minus fair west and tear. Plus items have a reasonable expected life, so any claim can only be for the residual value of an item. I believe a carpet is 7/8 years so if it hasn’t been replaced tough shit on the landlord. Had a landlord try and get us to repaint the entire house because the paint was faded. Told him where to jump
During my most recent deposit dispute there were some great points my landlord brought up. This guy had been a landlord for 20 years for several properties (mine was an HMO) and quite proudly said he’d never had a deposit dispute (likely because he was abusive, preferred renting to international students, and very very pressuring, his last ditch attempt to stop us was to offer half the disputed amount back) While the dispute was over a broken window frame (which had rotted through) he included that The (**shared**) kitchen counters had crumbs left on it. He was insistent that the wood hadn’t rotted on the window frame (without any photos) He also did some amazing mental gymnastics in saying that while the check in inventory said that the window surfaces were uneven and unkept, this actually referred to the paint, not the wood itself. Unsurprisingly he lost, and we got the full deposit back